


Triple Time

by Lady_Kit



Series: 12 Days of Shipmas [9]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Feelings, Fluff, M/M, mentions of sex and sexual themes, mild angst?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-01-02
Packaged: 2019-02-27 05:35:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13241532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Kit/pseuds/Lady_Kit
Summary: “put your hands on my shoulders, edgelord.” Edge pulled back, obviously trying to get a better look at him. Rus offered up his most disarming smile. The vampire stared back for a long moment. Then, with a put-upon sigh, he set his hands on Rus’ shoulders, though he remained stiff and unyielding. Rus just grinned; he could work with that. At least the other monster wasn’t pushing him away.___________For a demon of Rus's nature, sex is easy and uncomplicated. Feelings? Intimacy? That's much harder.(Prequel to "Unconventional", but can probably stand alone.)





	Triple Time

Rus smirked, watching Edge’s hips swap. The vampiric skeleton wasn’t even doing it intentionally. He was busy cleaning, but it seemed he simply couldn’t help but sway to the music. Rus certainly wasn’t complaining. Edge had a supernatural (heh) grace that he found almost hypnotizing. He debated with himself, considered just walking away. It would be the better decision in the long run. This was a rather twisted game he was playing with himself. He’d never been good at resisting temptation, though, and short-term pleasure wasn’t something he’d ever denied himself, even if it got him into trouble later.

So, humming along with the music, he came up behind Edge, resting his hands on the vampire’s iliac crests. Edge had heard him come in, so he didn’t startle, but he did pause and turn his head to regard him with upraised brows. “heya, edgelord,” Rus said, rubbing his thumbs over the tops of Edge’s ilia. He squirmed a little, but he didn’t pull away.

“Haven’t you eaten yet?” Edge asked, turning back to the bookshelf to continue dusting.

Rus smiled to hide his internal wince. “not hungry,” he said, “just saw you dancing by yourself in here, and thought you could use a partner.”

“I am cleaning,” Edge said, clearly exasperated, “not dancing.”

“oh, really? i can fix that.”

“That’s not—“ Before he finished speaking, Rus spun him around, one hand on Edge’s hip and the other catching his shoulder blade. Edge instinctively caught hold of his ribcage to keep his balance. “What are you doing?” Edge asked as Rus started to guide him into a gentle, swaying rhythm.

He chuckled, turning his head to speak against Edge’s acoustic meatus. “i just told you,” he said, “giving you a partner.” Rus took a step forward, guiding him into a simple box step. Edge’s fingers tightened on his ribs, his claws digging into his bones despite the ratty old robe Rus was wearing. “put your hands on my shoulders, edgelord.” Edge pulled back, obviously trying to get a better look at him. Rus offered up his most disarming smile. The vampire stared back for a long moment. Then, with a put-upon sigh, he set his hands on Rus’ shoulders, though he remained stiff and unyielding. Rus just grinned; he could work with that. At least the other monster wasn’t pushing him away. He’d been afraid that he might.

When Rus first came back to himself… _after_ , Edge had been the one to look after him. Twist was just a little too much for him at the time. The dragon seemed content enough to let Edge take the lead, though. So long as he wasn’t banned from the recovery room—that had been a memorable argument. And even if Edge had been somewhat distant, maybe even cold, when taking care of Rus, he had also been kind, in his own strange way.

Naturally, Rus quickly grew attached to both of them. But he couldn’t help but worry that they might come to regret rescuing him. Twist assuaged some of those concerns. He was all energy and enthusiasm and _affection_ when interacting with the other skeletons—and he was always more than ready to demonstrate just how happy he was to have Rus around.

Edge, however, was another matter entirely. He was far more reserved, even prickly, though he could be kind. Often, when Rus fell asleep in one of their home’s public areas, he’d either wake up in his own bed or with a blanket draped over him. Twist was far more inclined to simply curl around him, apparently basking in his presence—crazy dragon—so Rus was pretty confident that Edge was the culprit. Little things like that, small gestures of affection that Rus couldn’t always solidly attribute to Edge, gave him hope. Hope that Edge didn’t view him as a burden, or another box to check off his lengthy to-do list: 8PM make dinner, 9PM do the dishes, 10PM feed the sex demon.

In fact, he rather hoped that Edge might like him, if only a fraction of how much Rus liked him.

“you’re so stiff,” Rus said, smirking, “what are you nervous about?”

“I’m not nervous!” he snapped, “I’m just. Not used to being lead!”

“yeah? prove it,” Rus said, releasing him.

“What?”

“you lead. i’ll follow.”

The vampire seemed wary, but then he gathered himself, lifting his chin and straightening his spine. Rus clenched his teeth to keep from laughing. It looked like he was readying himself for a fight. He thrust out a hand, his gestures jerky and entirely lacking his usual grace. Grinning, Rus mimed a curtsey—chuckling at Edge’s indignant huff—and took his hand, allowing the vampire to draw him in. Edge planted his palm on Rus’ shoulder blade and drew their clasped hands up. He swallowed and took a breath; Rus could almost hear him mentally counting the beats. Then he pressed forward, initiating a waltz.

He was awkward, and even stiffer than he had been previously. “who taught you to dance, edgelord? a wooden board?” He winked before Edge could take offense, though his breathing stuttered a bit when he noticed the flush of red magic across Edge’s cheekbones.

It was strange. They had a mutually beneficial arrangement; Rus needed sex and Edge needed magic, so they fed off of each other regularly. Yet this stiff, awkward dance somehow felt so much more intimate.

“My…maker,” Edge said coolly, “taught me. Not long after I was turned.”

Rus blinked, looking down at the slightly shorter monster with wide eyes. Edge didn’t often talk about his past. Not about his time before becoming a vampire. Certainly not about the time before Twist had picked him up. There was so much Rus wanted to ask, so much he wanted to know, but he didn’t want to press, either. Nothing would scare Edge away faster. “oh.”

Edge readjusted his grip, bringing Rus in closer. Some of the tension had left his bones and his steps were smoother, taking on some of his normal grace. “How did you learn?” Edge asked.

Smiling despite the obvious subject change, Rus said, “oh, you know. i picked it up here and there. certain skills are useful for a…monster like me.”

“Right. That. Makes sense. I suppose.” Edge held his arm up, guiding Rus into a twirl. When he pulled Rus back into his arms, his grip was more confident and he pulled Rus in closer. Together, they started to glide across the floor. It felt good. Natural. And suddenly, Rus regretted the game he was playing with himself—allowing himself to continue hoping for something he couldn’t have. He stopped moving, and Edge regarded him curiously. “What’s the matter?”

Looking away, Rus shook his head. “nothing. just. you know. lazy-bones like me can only go for so long without taking a break. it was nice, edgelord. save the last dance for me, right?” Swallowing around the knot in his throat, he turned away, reaching into an inner pocket for his cigarettes. Edge caught him by the collar and pulled him back.

“Do I look stupid to you?” he asked, eyelights cold and crisply defined.

“of course not—“

“Then don’t try to give me that bullshit. What’s wrong?”

“i—“ Rus looked down and swallowed, a bitter smile twisting his mouth. His spaded tail curled and twisted, as if trying to grasp at something that kept escaping its grip. “just. you know. sorry. for, uh, for disrupting things. between you and twist. i mean…i’m sure you didn’t sign on for a threesome with a fucking demon.” He shook his head at the pun, his hands squeezing into tight fists. Then, wanting to punish himself, wanting to push Edge away once and for all, to purge himself of the infernal hope that continued to torment him, he said, “especially if the stupid bastard falls in love with you. sorry for that too.”

Edge stared at him, sockets going wide. Rus grinned weakly, feeling like his soul was going to crumble. “so. i’m going to. just. go outside. take a smoke break. maybe shoot myself. you know. whatever.” He tried to get free, but Edge wouldn’t let him go.

“What did you just say?”

He shook his head. “stars, edgelord. don’t make me repeat it.”

“You think you love me?” he asked.

That actually got Rus to start laughing. “i’m pretty confident in my own feelings, thanks. but…yeah. i. i love you. have for a while now. sorry about that. it wasn’t—i didn’t mean to. it just. happened.”

Edge stared at him, his sockets still wide. He brought a hand up, cupping Rus’ jaw. “I thought it was just me. I didn’t think you would ever….”

Their gazes met. Slowly, Edge let go of Rus’ robe, as if he was afraid the other skeleton might try to run. Instead, Rus held out a hand and said, “dance with me?”

Edge looked between him and the proffered hand. This changed things. Not just between them, but with Twist as well. Fear bled off both of them. Neither of them had expected this. Neither of them felt ready for something like this. Hesitantly, Edge took his hand. “Who’s leading?”

“don’t worry about that for now, edgelord,” Rus said, pulling him close. Later. They could worry about everything else later. “just dance with me.”

**Author's Note:**

> ...I really love this AU. I'm probably going to have to start a separate collection for it. It's way too much fun to think about and explore.


End file.
